Writing

Throughout our school we are adopting the 6 +1 TRAIT Writing model that focuses our writing and allows a seamless development of language skills from Kindergarten to the Eight Grade. The 6 + 1 TRAIT model is more than an approach to teaching and assessing writing. It is a vocabulary teachers use to describe their vision of what good writing looks like-any kind of writing. Whether it is a story about a quirky music teacher, an essay on the effects of global warming, or a persuasive piece on why Harry Potter books should be in every school library, certain characteristics make the writing work: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation. Using the language of traits in our assessment gives us a shared vocabulary for speaking about and working with texts that students create.